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Author: Donna Huber

A symbiotic gene stimulates aggressive behavior favoring the survival of parasitized caterpillars

Donna Huber on April 28, 2025

Animals often exhibit increased aggression in response to starvation, while parasites often manipulate host behavior. In contrast, underlying molecular mechanisms for these behavioral changes are mostly unknown. The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, is an agricultural pest that feeds on cruciferous plants as larvae, while Cotesia vestalis is a parasitoid wasp that parasitizes diamondback moth larvae. …

Regulatory T cell memory: implications for malaria

Donna Huber on April 23, 2025

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) can persist as memory cells (mTregs) in both infectious and non-infectious settings. However, their functional behavior, phenotypic stability, and suppressive properties upon antigen re-exposure remain poorly understood. Emerging evidence suggests that mTregs exhibit enhanced proliferation and suppressive capacity upon re-encountering the same antigen, a feature that may be critical in recurrent …

Lysosome and plasma membrane Piezo channels of Trypanosoma cruzi are essential for proliferation, differentiation and infectivity

Donna Huber on April 23, 2025

Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, is a parasitic protist that affects millions of people worldwide. Currently there are no fully effective drugs or vaccines available. Contact of T. cruzi infective forms with their host cells or with the extracellular matrix increases their intracellular Ca2+ concentration suggesting a mechano-transduction process. We report here …

Serial ‘deep-sampling’ PCR of fragmented DNA reveals the wide range of Trypanosoma cruzi burden among chronically infected human, macaque, and canine hosts, and allows accurate monitoring of parasite load following treatment

Donna Huber on April 15, 2025

Infection with the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi is generally well-controlled by host immune responses, but appears to be rarely eliminated. The resulting persistent, low-level infection results in cumulative tissue damage with the greatest impact generally in the heart in the form of chagasic cardiomyopathy. The relative success in immune control of T. cruzi infection usually …

Chet Joyner receives Fred C. Davison Early Career Scholar Award

Donna Huber on April 11, 2025

Chester Joyner, assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s infectious diseases department and member of CTEGD, is integrating molecular biology, immunology and vaccine development to develop new therapies needed to treat and prevent malaria. His work addresses some of the biggest challenges in the field by studying Plasmodium vivax dormancy in the liver, investigating why …

Discovery and optimization of a novel carboxamide scaffold with selective antimalarial activity

Donna Huber on March 28, 2025

Artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) are critical components of malaria control worldwide. Alarmingly, ACTs have begun to fail, owing to the rise in artemisinin resistance. Thus, there is an urgent need for an expanded set of novel antimalarials to generate new combination therapies. Herein, we have identified a 1,2,4-triazole-containing carboxamide scaffold that, through scaffold hopping efforts, …

Type I interferons induce guanylate-binding proteins and lysosomal defense in hepatocytes to control malaria

Donna Huber on March 25, 2025

Plasmodium parasites undergo development and replication within hepatocytes before infecting erythrocytes and initiating clinical malaria. Although type I interferons (IFNs) are known to hinder Plasmodium infection within the liver, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we describe two IFN-I-driven hepatocyte antimicrobial programs controlling liver-stage malaria. First, oxidative defense by NADPH oxidases 2 and 4 triggers …

The Human Milk Oligosaccharide Lacto-N-Fucopentaose III Conjugated to Dextran Inhibits HIV Replication in Primary Human Macrophages

Donna Huber on March 12, 2025

Background/Objectives: Individuals with HIV on combined antiretroviral therapy (ART) with virologic suppression exhibit chronic immune activation and immune dysfunction. Numerous studies have shown that human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) controls the postnatal transmission of HIV-1, but its effect on adult HIV-1 infection is not known. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-HIV activity …

Stable colonization of the model kissing bug Rhodnius prolixus by Trypanosoma cruzi Y strain

Donna Huber on March 12, 2025

Trypanosoma cruzi is a single-celled eukaryotic parasite responsible for Chagas disease, a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Central and South America. While the host-pathogen interactions of T. cruzi have been extensively studied in vertebrate models, investigations into its interactions within its insect host remain limited. To address this gap and establish a genetically …